COVID-19 (f/k/a "the Coronavirus")

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Yep. Looking at the CT list, it seems as though everyone other than clowns and mimes are "essential." Makes it kind of a faux lockdown.

What I can say is that 40% of the factory workers in my place have chosen not to work. 
I would probably work from home but I have 2 kids doing online learning and a wife doing online teaching and at work I have my own office with a door.
Oh and my commute that is normally 40-45 minutes has been 25 minutes and on cruise control most of the way.
People are definitely working from home.

[GooooMarquette]

What I can say is that 40% of the factory workers in my place have chosen not to work. 
I would probably work from home but I have 2 kids doing online learning and a wife doing online teaching and at work I have my own office with a door.
Oh and my commute that is normally 40-45 minutes has been 25 minutes and on cruise control most of the way.
People are definitely working from home.

Glad to see that people are voluntarily taking steps to flatten the curve. They are showing more leadership than many of our “leaders.”

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Sometimes even good leadership can't fix stupid. Idiots get together to intentionally try to get coronavirus -- and it works.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/24/coronavirus-kentucky-one-ill-after-coronavirus-party-beshear-says/2911870001/

[GooooMarquette]

Sometimes even good leadership can't fix stupid. Idiots get together to intentionally try to get coronavirus -- and it works.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/24/coronavirus-kentucky-one-ill-after-coronavirus-party-beshear-says/2911870001/

Wow - Darwin party.

[MUfan12]

Glad to see that people are voluntarily taking steps to flatten the curve. They are showing more leadership than many of our “leaders.”

In our office of 200+ we are down to 35-40 onsite. And a good 15 of those are in our hardware lab, so they can't work remote.

[rocky_warrior]

Sometimes even good leadership can't fix stupid. Idiots get together to intentionally try to get coronavirus -- and it works.
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/03/24/coronavirus-kentucky-one-ill-after-coronavirus-party-beshear-says/2911870001/

Benny!?!?

[rocket surgeon]

Glad to see that people are voluntarily taking steps to flatten the curve. They are showing more leadership than many of our “leaders.”

Our office has been closed since 3/17.  Might try to open to see valid stuff 4/6

Getting crazy calls including a dad frantic that his youngster may have inadvertently pulled out an adult tooth thinking it was a baby tooth??  Would be a first in over 30 years, but...chit continues to happen.  I’m down in Az waiting most of this out and have yet to hear from my office mgr what the story is.  Been too busy putting out other fires and getting a plan together

[GooooMarquette]

Senators and White House finally agree on $2T aid package.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-03-24/congress-white-house-stimulus-deal-coronavirus

Note: big enough deal that I also started a separate thread on it....

[rocky_warrior]

Wuhan -  back to normal!

See attached pic from NYT (pic from Monday).  I'm sure these employees normally eat on a grid 6' apart!   /teal

[skianth16]

Yes this is theory and from what I hear from South America and India it makes that not seem to be playing out like portrayed in the model.

The current data does support the theory, though. What we're seeing in India right now seems to be very much a precautionary move, not a response to a surge in cases. And South American is similar. I know Ecuador has seen an increase, but as we look at all the data globally, South America represents a disproportionately small percentage of cases. And yes, of course, testing plays some role in this, but everyone's testing is limited. Everyone is under-reporting. To what extent, we'll probably never know. Unless you've seen something different for these areas, I think they're actually good examples to support the theory that warmer, more humid weather can/will slow this thing down.

Even looking at the US, the northern states are more heavily impacted than southern states. Seattle has been hit much harder than LA. New York has been hit much harder than Atlanta. All 4 cities have a ton of international flights and would probably be the most likely cities for carriers of the virus to be arriving. That seems to line up with the weather-related research.

[jesmu84]

The current data does support the theory, though. What we're seeing in India right now seems to be very much a precautionary move, not a response to a surge in cases. And South American is similar. I know Ecuador has seen an increase, but as we look at all the data globally, South America represents a disproportionately small percentage of cases. And yes, of course, testing plays some role in this, but everyone's testing is limited. Everyone is under-reporting. To what extent, we'll probably never know. Unless you've seen something different for these areas, I think they're actually good examples to support the theory that warmer, more humid weather can/will slow this thing down.

Even looking at the US, the northern states are more heavily impacted than southern states. Seattle has been hit much harder than LA. New York has been hit much harder than Atlanta. All 4 cities have a ton of international flights and would probably be the most likely cities for carriers of the virus to be arriving. That seems to line up with the weather-related research.

You might be right. But I think it's too early to say.

We need either to have significantly more testing or significantly more lab data to draw any conclusions.

[Hards Alumni]

The current data does support the theory, though. What we're seeing in India right now seems to be very much a precautionary move, not a response to a surge in cases. And South American is similar. I know Ecuador has seen an increase, but as we look at all the data globally, South America represents a disproportionately small percentage of cases. And yes, of course, testing plays some role in this, but everyone's testing is limited. Everyone is under-reporting. To what extent, we'll probably never know. Unless you've seen something different for these areas, I think they're actually good examples to support the theory that warmer, more humid weather can/will slow this thing down.

Even looking at the US, the northern states are more heavily impacted than southern states. Seattle has been hit much harder than LA. New York has been hit much harder than Atlanta. All 4 cities have a ton of international flights and would probably be the most likely cities for carriers of the virus to be arriving. That seems to line up with the weather-related research.

I'd probably stay quiet about this until we see what Florida has to show us.  Rumor is that it will be horrible.

[skianth16]

You might be right. But I think it's too early to say.

We need either to have significantly more testing or significantly more lab data to draw any conclusions.

More tests will always help to clarify, no disagreement there. But wouldn't we be hearing about hospitalizations and the need for more tests and all those things related with high case numbers if there were issues in places like India, Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, etc?

I'm encouraged by the limited news coming out of these warmer areas. We can't be sure, but the research I've shared and the general trends from warmer places all seems to point toward warmer temperatures slowing this down.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

https://www.si.com/soccer/2020/03/25/atalanta-valencia-coronavirus-champions-league-san-siro-milan-italy?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=si-soccer&xid=socialflow_twitter_si

[skianth16]

I'd probably stay quiet about this until we see what Florida has to show us.  Rumor is that it will be horrible.

I'm trying to stick with research as much as I can. We might see something different from Florida, but so far, the trends from warmer areas in the US align with the conclusions drawn from research. I'm hoping that trend continues.

[Jockey]

I'm trying to stick with research as much as I can. We might see something different from Florida, but so far, the trends from warmer areas in the US align with the conclusions drawn from research. I'm hoping that trend continues.

Really??

Louisiana and Florida are among the hardest hit states. And, SoCal is still part of the US the last I heard.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I'm trying to stick with research as much as I can. We might see something different from Florida, but so far, the trends from warmer areas in the US align with the conclusions drawn from research. I'm hoping that trend continues.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-is-advancing-on-poor-nations-and-the-prognosis-is-troubling-11585149183?mod=e2fb

There is not research because this is new.  I too hope those theories are right.  The article above has some info about some of the countries of interested. 

[GooooMarquette]

I'm trying to stick with research as much as I can. We might see something different from Florida, but so far, the trends from warmer areas in the US align with the conclusions drawn from research. I'm hoping that trend continues.

Right now, there are 11 states with more than 1,000 confirmed cases. Of those 6 are "northern" states, 4 (Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas) are "southern" states, and 1 (California) is large enough to qualify as both. IMHO, that seems like a pretty tenuous basis on which to assume warm weather makes a significant difference. I hope you're right, but either way we will probably have a better sense in a few weeks.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

[skianth16]

Really??

Louisiana and Florida are among the hardest hit states. And, SoCal is still part of the US the last I heard.

Think about how many people traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras a few weeks ago. That's an exception to the general trend. Florida is similar with high travel in winter months, plus they have an older population when compared with the rest of the US. Looking at broad trends, warmer areas in the US and globally have been much, much less affected.

[skianth16]

Right now, there are 11 states with more than 1,000 confirmed cases. Of those 6 are "northern" states, 4 (Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas) are "southern" states, and 1 (California) is large enough to qualify as both. IMHO, that seems like a pretty tenuous basis on which to assume warm weather makes a significant difference. I hope you're right, but either way we will probably have a better sense in a few weeks.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

Infection rates or positive test rates seem like a better metric than just numbers. If Florida has processed 3x the average number of tests compared to the rest of the country, it makes sense that their case number would be higher.

I may be wrong on this, but again, the existing research is supportive of the idea that weather is expected to limit the spread. Even southern US states may not be humid enough right now to slow the spread as much as might be expected in a few months or in areas like the Phillipines that are currently hotter and more humid.

[Jockey]

Think about how many people traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras a few weeks ago. That's an exception to the general trend. Florida is similar with high travel in winter months, plus they have an older population when compared with the rest of the US. Looking at broad trends, warmer areas in the US and globally have been much, much less affected.

I don't quite get why an older population in Florida matters. Aren't we talking infection rate rather than results of the infection?

Also, why does Mardi Gras matter? Wouldn't the warmer weather (under your argument) have worked to reduce the amount of infection?

As far as broader trends, we just don't know. There are not nearly as many business travelers to China from these 3rd world countries, so they are way behind us and Europe right now. We have yet so see what the rates will be once this takes hold in warmer climates.

I hope you are right, but we really don't have the evidence yet that we need to declare that warmer climates are safer.

[Pakuni]

Historically, flu viruses do fade with the arrival or warmer weather.
That said, given that this is a new virus, no one really knows whether that will be the case with COVID-19. Anything else is educated guesswork at this point.
Here's a good read on the subject:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-17/with-the-start-of-spring-on-thursday-will-the-stronger-sun-chase-away-the-coronavirus

[skianth16]

I don't quite get why an older population in Florida matters. Aren't we talking infection rate rather than results of the infection?

Also, why does Mardi Gras matter? Wouldn't the warmer weather (under your argument) have worked to reduce the amount of infection?

As far as broader trends, we just don't know. There are not nearly as many business travelers to China from these 3rd world countries, so they are way behind us and Europe right now. We have yet so see what the rates will be once this takes hold in warmer climates.

I hope you are right, but we really don't have the evidence yet that we need to declare that warmer climates are safer.

We'll never know the actual infection rate. I think we can agree on that. Many people are likely going to be infected with minimal or mild symptoms, and those people are less likely to get tested using US guidelines. Older people who are more impacted are more likely to get tested. So the older population is more likely to drive up confirmed cases. That's my logic, anyway.

And Mardi Gras matters because the population in New Orleans increased dramatically. So even if NO has a lower infection rate due to weather, there's still a strong likelihood that the number of cases would spike given the population surge. All the people who are permanent residents were probably exposed to far more infected people than they would have without Mardi Gras.

Time will tell, but to me, the weather theory and related research make a lot of sense.

[cheebs09]

I don't quite get why an older population in Florida matters. Aren't we talking infection rate rather than results of the infection?

Also, why does Mardi Gras matter? Wouldn't the warmer weather (under your argument) have worked to reduce the amount of infection?

As far as broader trends, we just don't know. There are not nearly as many business travelers to China from these 3rd world countries, so they are way behind us and Europe right now. We have yet so see what the rates will be once this takes hold in warmer climates.

I hope you are right, but we really don't have the evidence yet that we need to declare that warmer climates are safer.

My thought is it’s more likely for an elderly person to be sick enough to get tested. Since the virus impacts them more, it would result in more positive tests because they’d be more likely to be tested.

I thought I saw somewhere the virus doesn’t die in warmer temperature, but may spread slower due to air temperature. Which some of that would be nullified with the density of people for Mardi Grad. Much of why we can’t totally look at India as proof weather doesn’t matter since that is so densely populated.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

What the actual f?

@ndrew_lawrence: Tx Lt Gov Dan Patrick says grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their grandchildren https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1242245135129346050/video/1

Fox News is doing its best to mainstream this line of thought.  Congrats Fox viewers!

"Fox News’ Brit Hume defended comments from Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick Tuesday night, saying it is “entirely reasonable” that elderly Americans could be fine with dying amid the coronavirus outbreak to save the U.S. economy."
https://www.thenewscommenter.com/news/brit-hume-defends-dan-patrick-comments-about-coronavirus-entirely-reasonable-viewpoint/1290851